The Inner Giant Essay, Research Paper

Nicholas Alan Stearns…5’9”…190 pounds. Ever since I was younger I saw the difference. It seemed that it was always a battle between David and Goliath, with me of course being David. Does being shorter than the average male athlete bother me? Well the answer is yes. In middle school it did when I wasn’t able to ride the roller coaster rides or drive the bumper cars, but that was minor. What really got me was Pop Warner football in the eighth grade when I was a “lengthy” 5’5” and I didn’t play much because of it. I didn’t grow much between 4th and 8th grade and I saw my peers starting to tower over me. I started to question myself and ask if height really did matter. Did my production in sports really rely on height? For a while I used to answer that question with a quick yes and think no more of it. When I had my coaches and peers questioning if could get a job done with my “extensive” height, it started to chip away at me. The constant questioning in middle school is what made me question myself and make me feel worthless.

It wasn’t until freshman football where I escaped the height trap, which was enslaved upon me from past coaches. It was a new team, a new coach, but I still didn’t have much hope within. I remember the night before the first practice, just looking at past football pictures of me and suddenly I started to think. Is it really height or is it another “H” word…heart? How could I really have my heart into the game if I was constantly thinking that people were questioning my production because of my height? After a whole night of pondering this colossal question, my answer was no. That’s when everything started to click. I told myself that no one was going to be better than I am because of height or even athletic ability. They were going to be better than I am because they had more heart in their work and they wanted it more. That’s when I first learned that no one was going to be better than me. I am not boasting when I say this, but I found that height doesn’t make the man, heart does. People could be taller than me, have more athletic ability than me, or even be smarter, but they will never ever have more heart than I will. With that kind of attitude, I had a better season than I ever had and started on both sides of the ball with no problems. Now I’m sitting here as a high school senior grateful that I found the inner giant within me, my heart.